Rachel Barnsworth McGee
by L.Hawk
Summary: My name is Rachel Barnsworth McGee and I am married to special agent Timothy McGee. Life on the team as seen through the eyes of someone close.


A/N-This is just the result of a plot bunny that wouldn't leave me alone. I am still working on my other fics, but having tons of homework doesn't help the muses.

My name is Rachel Barnsworth McGee and I'm married to a man named Timothy McGee. That by definition means that I know how to shoot, I always carry a knife, and I know a lot more about the workings of the armed federal agencies than most civilians.

You're going to ask me why. Okay, here it is. There's a saying that when a woman marries a man she also marries his mother. This is really saying that she becomes part of his family. Now, Tim's parent's are dead, they died in a car crash. He has a little sister, who's studying English literature at Georgetown University. She's my sister-in-law and we get along fine, mostly because I was an English literature major as well and we discuss books.

Now you're thinking that none of that explains why I'm so good with weapons. I know. The real reason is because Tim is a member of team Gibbs. Now, if you work for NCIS, which is the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, or if you work for another federal agency in a liaison position where you've had dealings with NCIS then you've heard of them. You know that Gibbs has a reputation for being a bastard and that his team will do anything he asks without question. Even if it's illegal, like breaking into a police impound lot to steal evidence, or hacking the CIA. They've really done those things for him. And Gibbs can be a bastard, if he needs to be.

The reason they do these things is because they're like a family. Gibbs is the father, and Tony, Ziva and Tim are like the kids. So is the lab tech Abby. Ducky, who's the medical examiner is like Gibbs' brother and is the only one who's willing to stand up to him. And Jimmy, who's Ducky's assistant, is like a son to him, so in effect, he's like a cousin. So if team Gibbs is like Tim's family, then that means I married into team Gibbs.

That means a lot of things. It was Gibbs who taught me how to shoot. Once Tim and I were engaged, he practically dragged me to the shooting range. I knew better than to disobey him. The first time Tim introduced us, he dragged me into the elevator pulled the emergency stop switch and told me that if I ever hurt Tim, kill me and make it look like an accident. He was serious, and he probably would have, but I told him that would never hurt Tim, that I loved him. He stared at me and I swear he saw right into my soul, before he smiled and hit the switch again to send us back to the bullpen. I was terrified.

Needless to say our relationship improved. He was my rock when Tim was shot and since my dad left us when I was six, it was Gibbs who walked me down the aisle. It's because of him I carry a knife. It's his rule number nine.

He wasn't the only one to threaten me the day Tim introduced me to his team. Abby said she would kill me without leaving any forensic evidence. Tony said he would rip my limbs off them run me over with his Mustang. Ziva said she'd torture me to death slowly with a paperclip. Jimmy said he'd perform my autopsy while I was still alive. His was the hardest to take seriously, mostly because, he's, well, Jimmy. Ducky just warned me about the others. Of course they like me a good deal better now.

Of course, having Team Gibbs as family isn't a walk in the park. Gibbs himself, though he is my father-in-law and I love him, is not an easy man to get along with. Just ask his three ex-wives. His first wife and daughter were killed and since then, he's been closed off and bottled up his emotions. On the anniversary of their deaths, the whole team is out of sorts, because they are tuned into Gibbs. He also has a temper and if he's mad at you…you do not want to get him mad. Not that he's particularly nice when he's not mad. He does care, he just doesn't show it most of the time. He's all about tough love, like smacking you on the back of the head. He's also not a big believer in manners .He not an easy man to deal with, but I manage.

Ducky is not as bad, in fact he is a perfect gentleman. He is a doctor not of the body, but of the mind and if you ever need someone to talk to, he's your man. Unfortunately, he's always psychoanalyzing people and that is pretty hard to deal with, especially when it's you he's psychoanalyzing. But sometimes even if you don't want to hear it, you need to know the truth. And Ducky won't lie to you, he'll tell it to you straight.

Tony of course is another matter altogether. He's pretty good at hiding his emotions and shows the world only the frat-boy persona that he's created. But if you really get to know him, you see his other side, which is insecure. He blames himself easily and often deals with it by drinking. Tim has to go get him from various bars sometimes and either Tim will stay over at Tony's place to make sure he's okay or Tony will end up here. I don't mind when Tony stays over. He might seem irritating at first, but underneath he's actually not a bad guy and I know he'd do the same for Tim. In fact he has, on several occasions, when they've had particularly bad cases, called me to come pick them both up at a bar.

Ziva doesn't usually drink. But she has her own troubles. She's been through some traumatic experiences in her life. I don't know all the details, but sometimes she comes over in the middle of the night because it's the closest and she can't deal with the nightmares. And we always let her in without any questions. I think she just can't face being alone with all the memories. She rarely shows any emotion at all. I guess she's like Gibbs in that respect.

Jimmy is…well Jimmy. He's super insecure and unlike Tony can't hide it, but at the same time, he also is always the one to put his foot in his mouth and say awkward. Of course, he's not a bad guy, just shy. Sometimes he has a panic attack in the middle of the night and he starts to think that Ducky and/or Gibbs is mad at him for some reason or something else negative and Tim has to talk him down.

Abby is nice, and she's almost always happy. She also has a very forceful personality, which means you can't say no to her. That's how Tim ended up with his dog Jethro, who's my dog now too. Abby's landlord told her he was too big to live in her apartment, so she told Tim that Jethro was his dog now. She's always bossy and generally, though I do love her, she's emotionally draining to deal with even when she's in a good mood, which thankfully is most of the time, and if she's worried about one of her teammates, it's almost impossible. Their jobs inspire a lot of worry, which is why she's last on my phone protocol list.

Ah. That's another thing about Tim being a federal agent, which is a very high risk job. Sometimes, something might happen. If he wasn't a federal agent and he didn't come home when he said he was going to be home and didn't call I might not be so worried, but he is and bad things can happen and have happened to him in the past. So I have my phone protocol list, which dictates who to call when I don't know where Tim is.

The first thing I do if Tim doesn't come home when he says he's going to be home is wait for one hour. Usually, if Team Gibbs catches a case he calls me by then and tells me he's sorry, but he can't come home until much later and I tell him don't sweat it, investigate, I'll be waiting when you get home. If he doesn't call me within the hour, I call Tim's desk phone. If they have a case, then someone's in the bullpen and will answer the phone. Sometimes Tim just gets so caught up in the case that he forgets to call me. I always forgive him, because I know his job means a lot to him. If nobody answers the desk phone, then I call his call in case he's out in the field or, Tony dragged him out after work, or something like that. If he doesn't answer his cell, that's when I really start to worry. That means he's breaking Gibbs rule number 3, which is never be unreachable. My next step is to call Tony, Ziva and Jimmy's cells. Between them, they usually are either with Tim, or have some idea of where he went. If they don't know, I call Gibbs. He knows almost everything about his team including their whereabouts, and there's a good chance he's in Gibbs' basement. If Gibbs doesn't answer or doesn't know where Tim is I call Abby as a last resort. She and Tim are close and I don't like to worry her. Of course if Abby doesn't know where he is, there's nothing much I can do but sit by the phone and wait for him.

Even if he calls me and I know where he is, it's still a relief to see him walk through the door. He's my soul mate and I can't stand the thought of losing him. I couldn't really stand the thought of losing anyone on team Gibbs. For all I gripe about them, they are my family as sure as if we were related by blood. Tim told me about Jenny and about Kate. I try to be there for him, but it's hard, especially on the anniversaries of their deaths.

Still, life with team Gibbs isn't all worry and strife. Sometimes Tim gets the day off and we go on a date, and at least once every three weeks the entire team comes over for dinner. Ziva usually comes over a little before hand to help me cook and we always have a great time. And there are other things like when Abby decides to drag me and Tim out for ice cream, or Tony insists we come to the NCIS softball game. Life is good and being married to Tim and team Gibbs makes it wonderful.


End file.
